Self-Installing Computer Peripherals

ABSTRACT

A self-installing peripheral device is provided. The device includes an onboard memory that stores a device driver that enables the device to communicate with a computer operating system. When the device is connected to a computer, the device automatically downloads the device driver to the computer and installs the device driver. In some embodiments, the device is a USB device that may include an internal USB hub. The onboard memory is connected to the USB hub and the primary functionality of the USB device also connects to the computer via a single USB connection through the USB hub. In other embodiments, the device connects to the computer via a wireless connection protocol. Such a device may be a Bluetooth-enabled device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of prior application Ser. No.10/864,409, filed Jun. 10, 2004, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to computer devices. More specifically,the invention relates to a method and apparatus for installing a newhardware device in a computer.

2. Description of Related Art

Many computers are equipped with operating systems that provide what isknown as “plug and play” functionality for many peripheral devices. Theterm “plug and play” refers to the ability of a computer operatingsystem to detect the connection of a new peripheral device andautomatically install the necessary drivers for the operating system tointeract with that device. Apparently, the term was conceived out of thenotion that one could plug in a device and immediately play with it.Plug and play technology was considered an advancement overthen-existing methods for adding peripherals to a computer. Prior to theadvent of plug and play technology, each new peripheral device requireda manual installation of necessary device drivers in order to make thedevice function properly. Thus, device manufacturers were required tostore installation programs and necessary drivers on a computer-readablemedia such as a floppy disk or CD-Rom that was included with the device.

Plug and play technology typically required cooperation between theperipheral manufacturer and the operating system developer. For a deviceto fully realize the advantages of plug and play technology, a devicedriver needed to be preinstalled on the computer to which the device wasconnected. If the required device driver were not preinstalled somewhereon the computer, some external computer-readable media was required tocomplete device installation even if the operating system recognized thedevice. Consequently, device manufacturers supplied operating systemdevelopers with drivers prior to the release of a new operating systemso that the operating system would both recognize the peripheral deviceand install the necessary drivers upon detecting a connection.

Notably, even after the development of plug and play technology, devicemanufacturers continued to package their peripheral devices with disksand CD-ROMs that stored installation software and device drivers. Thispackaging was necessary because of several shortcomings associated withthe early plug and play model. First, because of the infrequency of newoperating system versions or updates known commonly as service packs,those devices developed and released subsequent to the release of theplug and play operating system did not have drivers included with thelatest operating system release. Second, device manufacturers frequentlyupdated drivers to improve the performance of their products with theoperating system. Thus, a driver included with an original release of anoperating system may not have been the best available driver for thatproduct. Although operating systems vendors dedicated significantresources to ensure that the latest drivers were included in servicepacks, new hardware peripherals were introduced frequently. As a result,it was not practical to have all drivers loaded into OS updates, asdoing so required significant system resources and tended to wastecomputer memory storage space on unused drivers.

FIG. 2 provides an example of the complexity inherent in an exemplaryprior art peripheral installation process. At step 200, a plug and playdevice is connected to a computer and recognized by the operating system(OS). At step 201, the OS determines whether the device drivers foroperating the device are stored on the hard drive in a location known bythe operating system. If the device drivers are present, the systemskips to step 204 where the operating system attempts to install thedevice from the known location on the hard drive using the devicedriver. If the device driver is not present in the OS, the systemproceeds to step 202 where it looks for device drivers on external mediasuch as a floppy disk or a CD-Rom. If drivers are found on externalmedia, the system skips ahead to step 204 where it attempts to installthe device using the device driver found on external media. If no devicedriver is located on external media, the system looks for a genericdriver that may enable the peripheral device. If a generic driver islocated, the operating system will attempt to install the device at step204. At step 205, the system determines whether the installation wassuccessful. If the installation was successful, the system proceeds to210 and the user can then access the device. If the installation fails,the system proceeds to step 206 where it determines whether there isavailable technical support. If technical support is available,technical support is provided at step 209. Depending on the form oftechnical support provided, the support may involve considerable expenseto the device manufacturer in the form of technical support personnel orweb site maintenance. Alternatively, if technical support is notavailable, a disappointed customer results at step 207. Althoughintangible, a disappointed customer also represents substantial cost tothe device manufacturer. At step 208, the installation fails and thecustomer must return to step 200 to restart the installation process.Plainly, an installation routine as provided in FIG. 2 has numerouspotential failure points and is potentially expensive to the devicemanufacturer.

Eventually, both device manufacturers and operating systems developersrealized that the Internet could be useful for providing and updatingdevice drivers. As a result, updated device drivers were made availablefor downloading via a web site. However, this solution did not addressthe problem for those computers without access to the Internet.Moreover, one of the more common peripheral devices sold to computerowners was a network interface card (NIC). Ironically, in order to getthe NIC driver necessary to access the Internet, an Internet connectionwas required.

In view of the shortcomings associated with the prior art, what isneeded is a way for peripheral devices to be automatically installedwithout having to access some external media. It would be an additionaladvancement to provide a way for manufacturers of plug and play devicesto easily ensure that the most recent device drivers are installed uponthe initial connection of the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, a method forself-installing peripheral devices in an operating system is provided.The method comprises storing device drivers in a non-volatile memorylocated on the device. Upon connecting the device to the computer, theoperating system recognizes the device and downloads and installs thedevice driver from the non-volatile memory on the device to provide trueplug and play capability.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a USB hub is placedwithin a USB peripheral device. The hub provides a single access pointfor the computer to access both the functionality of the device and aninstallation routine stored in a non-volatile memory such as a flashmemory chip linked to the USB hub.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitedin the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computer environment suitable forpracticing aspects of the invention.

FIG. 2 provides a flowchart depicting a prior art installation routine.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a USB hub that may be used inpracticing aspects of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram representing a USB device suitablefor practicing aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 provides a flowchart depicting an installation routine accordingto aspects of the invention.

FIG. 6 provides a flowchart describing steps for moving aself-installing peripheral device from one computer to a second computeraccording to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 7 provides a flowchart that describes steps for creating additionalstorage space in the self-installing device according to aspects of theinvention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram representing a network-enabledenvironment suitable for practicing an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 provides a flowchart depicting the updating of a self-installingdriver via a computer network according aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment100 on which the invention may be implemented. The computing systemenvironment 100 is only one example of a suitable computing environmentand is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment100 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating toany one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplaryoperating environment 100.

The invention is operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include,but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-heldor laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputers, video game consoles, mainframe computers, distributedcomputing environments that include any of the above systems or devices,and the like.

The invention may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing theinvention includes a general-purpose computing device in the form of acomputer 110. Components of computer 110 may include, but are notlimited to, a processing unit 120, a system memory 130, and a system bus121 that couples various system components including the system memoryto the processing unit 120. The system bus 121 may be any of severaltypes of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of busarchitectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architecturesinclude Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro ChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video ElectronicsStandards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus.

Computer 110 typically includes a variety of computer readable media.Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby computer 110 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computerstorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canaccessed by computer 110. Communication media typically embodiescomputer readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterm “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer readable media.

The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131and random access memory (RAM) 132. A basic input/output system 133(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within computer 110, such as during start-up, istypically stored in ROM 131. RAM 132 typically contains data and/orprogram modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presentlybeing operated on by processing unit 120. By way of example, and notlimitation, FIG. 1 illustrates operating system 134, applicationprograms 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137.

The computer 110 may also include other removable/non-removable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,FIG. 1 illustrates a hard disk drive 141 that reads from or writes tonon-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 151that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 152,and an optical disk drive 155 that reads from or writes to a removable,nonvolatile optical disk 156 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storagemedia that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include,but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards,digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solidstate ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 141 is typically connectedto the system bus 121 through a non-removable memory interface such asinterface 140, and magnetic disk drive 151 and optical disk drive 155are typically connected to the system bus 121 by a removable memoryinterface, such as interface 150.

The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed aboveand illustrated in FIG. 1, provide storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thecomputer 110. In FIG. 1, for example, hard disk drive 141 is illustratedas storing operating system 144, application programs 145, other programmodules 146, and program data 147. Note that these components can eitherbe the same as or different from operating system 134, applicationprograms 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137. Operatingsystem 144, application programs 145, other program modules 146, andprogram data 147 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, ata minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands andinformation into the computer 110 through input devices such as akeyboard 162 and pointing device 161, commonly referred to as a mouse,trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include amicrophone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like.These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit120 through a user input interface 160 that is coupled to the systembus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such asa parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor191 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus121 via an interface, such as a video interface 190. In addition to themonitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices suchas speakers 197 and printer 196, which may be connected through anoutput peripheral interface 190.

The computer 110 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer180. The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, a server, arouter, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, andtypically includes many or all of the elements described above relativeto the computer 110, although only a memory storage device 181 has beenillustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1include a local area network (LAN) 171 and a wide area network (WAN)173, but may also include other networks. Such networking environmentsare commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranetsand the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 is connectedto the LAN 171 through a network interface or adapter 170. When used ina WAN networking environment, the computer 110 typically includes amodem 172 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN173, such as the Internet. The modem 172, which may be internal orexternal, may be connected to the system bus 121 via the user inputinterface 160, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 110, orportions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. Byway of example, and not limitation, FIG. 1 illustrates remoteapplication programs 185 as residing on memory device 181. It will beappreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers may beused.

The present invention overcomes limitations and deficiencies found inthe prior art by providing a self-installing computer peripheral device.In an embodiment of the invention, a self-installing peripheral devicemay be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device. USB device is herein definedas any peripheral device that can be communicate directly or indirectlywith a computing device via a connection to a USB port on the computingdevice. FIG. 3 provides a block diagram of how a USB hub 300 may be usedto connect one or more USB devices 302(a)-(d) to a single USB port 304on a computing device, for example computer 110 in FIG. 1. USB hub isherein defined as an apparatus that allows two or more USB devices toshare a single USB connection. USB hubs are known in the art and sold toconsumers for the purpose of connecting multiple USB devices to acomputer with limited available USB ports. These known USB hubs usuallytake the form of small external devices that connect to a USB port on acomputing device.

USB hub 300 provides an interface by which several USB devices302(a)-(d) can share a single USB connection to operably connect to aUSB port on a computer. Frequently, USB hub 300 is an external devicethat is used to allow several USB devices to connect to a personalcomputer 110 that may only have a single USB port. For example,referring again to FIG. 3, USB device 302(a) might be a printer, USBdevice 302(b) might be a network interface card (NIC), 302(c) might be akeyboard, and 302(d) might be a mouse. The USB hub allows each of thesedevices to share a single connection to computer 110.

Referring to FIG. 4, a self-installing peripheral device 400 is shownaccording to one or more aspects of the invention. Unlike the scenariopresented in FIG. 3 wherein a USB hub 300 is an external device, FIG. 4presents a self-installing peripheral device 400 that includes aninternal USB flash memory 404 and a USB component 406, each operablyconnected to computing device 110 via an internal USB hub device 402 anda USB-enabled connection. The USB flash memory 404 may have stored on itinstallation software. The term “installation software” is hereindefined as any software that interacts with self-installing peripheraldevice 400 to improve the functionality of the self-installingperipheral device. In one embodiment, installation software may includea software device driver that, when installed into operating system 144,enables USB component 406 to operably function with operating system144, application programs 145, other program modules 146, and programdata 147 stored on computer 110. In other embodiments, installationsoftware may be an application program that is used in conjunction withself-installing peripheral device 400.

Self-installing peripheral device 400 may be embodied in any of severaldifferent hardware devices. By way of example and not of limitation, inone embodiment self-installing peripheral device 400 may be a computermouse or some other cursor control device. In this embodiment, each ofUSB hub device 402, USB flash memory device 404 and USB component 406will be housed inside the outer housing 401 of the mouse, such that themouse appears no different in appearance from a typical USB mouse. Othertypes of components that may be modified in this way to beself-installing peripheral devices may include (but not necessarily belimited to) printers, network interface cards (NICs), keyboards,joysticks, trackballs, digital pens, MP3 playing devices, digitalcameras, or any other peripheral device that may be connected to acomputer. Although the above example is described in terms of universalserial bus components and hubs, it would be easily understood by one ofskill in the art that the inventive features described herein may beimplemented using other known device connecting protocols such as PCI,SCSI, EISA, ISA, Firewire (IEEE 1394), etc. Moreover, one of skill inthe art would further understand that the inventive features describedherein may be implemented using Bluetooth and other wireless connectionprotocols known in the art.

Referring again to FIG. 4, stored in flash memory 404 is device driver408 which allows the operating system to interact properly with thedevice. Additional software 410 may also be stored in flash memory 404.Additional software 410 may be software that allows configuration ofsome advanced feature of the device. Or, in another embodiment, it maybe software that may be used in conjunction with the device. Forexample, if self-installing peripheral device 400 is a digital camera,additional software 410 may be a multimedia program such as Microsoft®Photo Editor. If self-installing peripheral device 400 is an MP3 player,additional software 410 may be some music playing software or musiclibrary software that allows MP3 songs to be organized in various ways.

According to one or more aspects of the invention, a self-installingperipheral device will automatically install the device driver thatconfigures the computer to correctly interface with the peripheraldevice. FIG. 5 provides a flowchart that describes steps forautomatically installing a self-installing peripheral device accordingto one or more aspects of the invention. In the example provided, theself-installing peripheral is a plug-and-play enabled USB device such asthe one described in FIG. 4. However, it should be appreciated by one ofskill in the art that the device may use some other type of connection(including wireless connections) as described above. At step 500,self-installing peripheral device 400 is connected to a computer (e.g.computer 110) and the connection is detected. According to methodswell-known in the art, the plug-and-play device identifies itself to thesystem and tells the system which resources that it requires. At step502, the system generally determines whether the device is capable ofbeing a self-installing peripheral device, in this specific embodimentby asking whether it is a USB device. If the detected peripheral deviceis not capable of self-installation, the automatic installation iscanceled at step 516.

If the device is capable of self-installation, the system proceeds tostep 504 where it determines whether there an accessible storage areaavailable on the device. In an embodiment where the device is a USBdevice, the system may look for a USB flash memory chip 404 on thedevice. In other embodiments where the device is some other kind ofperipheral device, the system may look for a flash memory chip that isnot USB enabled. If USB flash memory chip 404 is not present, theautomatic installation is canceled at step 516. If a USB flash memorychip 404 is present, the system proceeds to step 506 where it determineswhether the accessible storage area includes a device driver forself-installing peripheral device 400. If no device driver is found inthe storage area (e.g. USB flash memory chip 404), the automaticinstallation is canceled by proceeding to step 516. If a suitable devicedriver is found, the system then determines whether the device driverhas already been installed on the computing device. If so, there is noneed to reinstall it, and the automatic installation is cancelled at516. If the device driver has not yet been installed, the device driverstored in memory 404 on self-installing peripheral device 400 isdownloaded to the PC at step 510 by copying it from flash memory 404 tothe appropriate storage media on computing device 110.

Next, the operating system detects the new driver and begins theinstallation process at step 512. This process may be initiated by theoperating system itself using autoplay or some other automatic softwarelaunching technology, or through some signal received by the operatingsystem from the device. In an alternative embodiment, the installationcould be user-initiated via a user response to a query that asks whetherthe user wishes to automatically install the device. Finally, at step514, the device drivers are installed for the device, resulting in theability for the computer to communicate with the peripheral device.

According to other aspects of the invention, self-installing peripheraldevice 400 may also be used to store user-configured settings for thedevice by uploading them and storing them in flash memory chip 404 andautomatically transferring these settings to a second computer so thatthe user can easily transfer the device from one computer to another.Although this feature is particularly useful in the context of portableperipheral devices, it may also be implemented in the context of fixedperipheral devices as well—for example, in a situation where a userreplaces a personal computer but does not replace the peripheral devicesthat are attached to it.

As discussed above, in some embodiments of the invention,self-installing peripheral device 400 may not only store a device driver408 in flash memory 404, but also may store additional installationsoftware 410. In some instances, additional software 410 is provided toallow a user to take advantage of additional features of device 400. Forexample, in a USB mouse, a basic mouse driver will connect the mouse sothat the basic functionality of the mouse is available to the user. Themouse may have additional features built into the hardware that are notaccessible through the device driver alone. For example, configurationcharacteristics such as the speed at which the mouse cursor moves acrossthe screen, scroll wheel rates, thematic cursor configurations, or eventhe right-handed or left-handed configuration of the buttons may not beaccessible via the device driver (which provides only basicfunctionality) but rather through software that must be installed inaddition to the device driver.

Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart describes the steps that may be used toconfigure a second computer according to configuration settings storedin a self-installing peripheral device such as the USB self-installingperipheral device 400 of FIG. 4. Although the method is described inview of the USB device of FIG. 4, a USB device is only one of manypossible types of devices that may be used to practice the steps of themethod set forth in FIG. 6. For example, in an alternative embodiment, acomputing system may include a computer that utilizes a wirelessconnection protocol in conjunction with a wireless connection enableddevice. In one embodiment, the system may include a Bluetooth-enabledpersonal computer and a Bluetooth device such as a keyboard, mouse,printer, or some other Bluetooth-enabled peripheral known in the art.Just as the operating system detects a USB device connection in the USBcontext, the operating system may detect a Bluetooth connection anddownload a stored driver stored in a non-volatile memory on theBluetooth-enabled device in a similar fashion as described above.

At step 602, peripheral device 400 is set up on a first computer byinstalling device driver 408. This installation may be accomplishedusing the steps from FIG. 5. Once the device has been successfullyinstalled, the system determines at step 604 whether additionalconfiguration is available for the device via additional software 410.If there is no available additional software 410, the configuration ofthe first computer ends by proceeding to step 618. If additionalconfiguration software is found, the user adjusts the user preferencesfor the device at step 606. At step 608, the preferences are writtenback to flash memory 404 for later use. Next, self-installing peripheraldevice 400 is removed from the first computer at step 610, and thenconnected to a second computer at step 612. Upon being connected to thesecond computer, at step 614, the self-installing peripheral device 400automatically installs its device driver on the second computer. Thismay be carried out according to the steps provided in FIG. 5. Next, atstep 616, the system reads the stored settings from flash memory 404 andconfigures the second computer using additional software 410 inconjunction with the stored settings. As a result, the second computerwill interact with self-installing peripheral in the same manner was thefirst computer.

According to additional aspects of the invention, subsequent to deviceinstallation, the data storage capability provided by flash memory 404may be offered to the user as additional storage capacity. Referring toFIG. 7, at step 702, self-installing peripheral device 400 has beeninstalled and configured in computer 110 possibly through the stepsdescribed in FIG. 5. Upon completion of the installation andconfiguration, the system queries the user to determine whether theywish to receive additional storage on the device at step 704. Thecomputer instructions for executing this query may be stored inadditional software 410, or they may be stored in storage media oncomputing device 110. The phrasing of this user query may becharacterized depending upon the type of self-installing peripheral. Forexample, where peripheral device 400 is a digital music player (e.g. MP3player), the system could ask the user whether they would like extrastorage provided on the device. Providing this extra storage may allowthe MP3 player to increase the number of songs that can be stored on thedevice. In the case of a computer mouse, the system could ask whetherthe use wishes to expand the available storage in the mouse. If the userchooses to expand the available storage, the mouse may be used as a datastorage device. Using the mouse as a data storage device would allow theuser to hook up the mouse to any computer and access and load thepresentation from the mouse.

If the user declines the additional free storage space on the device,the installation process is terminated at step 714. If the user responseindicates that the user wishes to receive additional storage space, thesystem proceeds to step 708 where it may copy the device driver 408and/or additional software 410 to the local hard disk drive 141 oncomputer 110. This copy routine may allow the user to select the copylocation of the files on hard disk 141, or alternatively it may copy toa pre-designated area on hard disk 141 or some other storage mediaattached to computer 110. Operating system registry settings may beupdated to reflect the new location of the device driver and theadditional software. In another embodiment, the user or system may skipstep 708, and move directly to step 710.

At step 710, the system deletes all of the data (device driver 408,additional software 410) from flash memory 404. Because device driverstend to be relatively small and because of their role in enabling thedevice to function properly with the operating system, device driver 408may optionally be left in flash memory 404 with only additional software410 being removed. At step 712, flash memory 404 may be mounted into thecomputer file system as an external media device. Flash memory 404 maythen be made available via a program such as Windows Explorer as anadditional drive mapping. Upon adding the additional storage provided byflash memory 404 to the file system, the configuration processterminates at step 714.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method for maintainingan updated version of a driver for a self-installing peripheral deviceis provided. FIG. 8 illustrates a network environment suitable forpracticing these aspects of the invention. Computer 800 is connected ina local area network to router 802. Router 802 provides a gateway to awide area network such as Internet 804. Remote server 806 is alsoconnected to Internet 804 and is accessible to local computer 800.Stored on remote server 806 is the most recently updated device driverfor peripheral device 400 and any additional software that may be usedin connection with the device. Connected to computer 800 isself-installing peripheral device 400, in this case shown as a digitalcamera.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flowchart describes the steps used formaintaining updated software on a peripheral device. A step 902, adevice driver 408 is installed in computer 800 which enables theoperating system to interact with device 400. This installation may beaccording to the method described in FIG. 5, or alternatively it may beaccording to some other installation routine that is known in the art.Next, at step 904, any additional software that is available for withself-installing peripheral device 200 is installed. Like before, thisinstallation may be according to a routine previously discussed herein(e.g. FIGS. 5 and 6), or alternatively, it may be according to someother installation routine known in the art.

Once peripheral device has been setup on computer 800, a networkconnection to wide area network 804 is detected. This detection may beaccomplished through techniques that are well-known in the art such aspinging a known IP address. Once a network connection is detected, atstep 908, the system connects to remote server 806 and downloads theupdated driver and any additional software. Rather than storing thesoftware on the hard drive of the computer, at step 910 the downloadeddata is stored instead in flash memory 404 on self-installing peripheraldevice 400 by writing the new driver to the flash memory and optionallydeleting the old driver. Storing the software in flash memory on thedevice ensures that anytime the device is installed into a secondcomputer, the most up-to-date version of the device driver is providedwith the installation. At step 912, the system queries the user, askingwhether they wish to update their device driver for the device. If theuser declines, the process terminates at step 918. If the user accepts,at step 916, the updated software is installed for device 400.

The present invention has been described in terms of preferred andexemplary embodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modificationsand variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims willoccur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of thisdisclosure.

1. A method for installing software to operate a peripheral device on a computing device comprising: storing installation software in memory on the peripheral device; upon detecting a connection between the computing device and peripheral device, installing the installation software onto the computing device to permit the operation of the peripheral device on the computing device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the peripheral device is a universal serial bus (USB) device.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the peripheral device includes a USB hub having a plurality of ports.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the memory is connected to one of the plurality of ports of the USB hub.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the installation software includes a software device driver.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the installed software includes software for configuring one or more user settings of the peripheral device.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of configuring the one or more user settings of the peripheral device.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of storing the configured user settings in the memory on the peripheral device.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: removing the peripheral device from the computing device; connecting the peripheral device to a second computing device; upon detecting a connection between the second computing device and peripheral device, installing software to operate the peripheral device on the second computing device; and configuring user settings of the peripheral device according to the configured user settings stored in the memory on the peripheral device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection is a wireless connection.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the peripheral device is a Bluetooth-enabled device.
 12. In a self-installing peripheral device connected to a computing device, the peripheral device having installation software stored in a memory on the peripheral device, a method for providing additional storage on the peripheral device comprising: copying the installation software from the peripheral device to the computing device; and deleting the installation software from the memory on the peripheral device.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising adding the memory on the peripheral device to a file system on the computing device.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the self-installing peripheral device is one of a computer mouse, an MP3 player, a trackball, digital pen, joystick, digital camera, keyboard, network interface card, or a printer.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: prior to deleting the installation software from the memory on the peripheral device, querying a user to determine whether additional storage is desired on the peripheral device.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising: prior to copying the installation software from the peripheral device to the computing device, querying a user to determine whether additional storage is desired on the peripheral device.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising: updating a registry setting in the computing device to identify the location of the installation software on the computing device.
 18. A method for maintaining updated software on a peripheral device connected to a first computing device comprising: connecting to a remote computer; downloading the updated software; storing the updated software in a memory on the peripheral device; and installing the updated software.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the updated software is a device driver for the peripheral device.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: prior to installing the updated software, querying a user to determine whether the updated software should be installed.
 21. The method of claim 19, further comprising: disconnecting the peripheral device from the first computing device; connecting the peripheral device to a second computing device; upon detecting the connection between the peripheral device and the second computing device, installing the updated software on the second computing device.
 22. A method of transferring user-configured settings for self-installing peripheral device from a first computing device to a second computing device comprising: storing installation software in the memory of the peripheral device; self-installing the installation software onto the first computing device to permit the operation of the peripheral device on the first computing device; uploading user-configured settings for the peripheral device; storing the user-configured settings in the memory of the peripheral device; and automatically transferring the user-configured settings to the second computing device.
 23. A self-installing peripheral device configured to transfer user-configured settings of the peripheral device from a first computing device to a second computing device comprising: a housing; a memory located inside the housing; a hub device for receiving a connection from the memory; the peripheral device configured to: store installation software in the memory; upload user-configured settings from a first computing device; store the user-configured settings in the memory; and automatically transfer the user-configured settings to a second computing device. 